Hold-up alarm



H, O. RUGH HOLD-UP ALARM Nov. 1, 1938.

Filed 00t- 25, 1934 To EURGLAR ALARM SKSTEM Patented Nov. 1, 1938'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOLD-UP ALARM Evanston, Ill.

Application October 25, 1934, Serial No. 749,956

1 Claim.

My invention relates to holdup alann devices and has for its principalobject the provision of a device of this character which is adapted tobe mounted upon the human body and made available upon the need thereforwherever the individual may go in carrying out his duties.

It is the principal purpose of this invention to provide a device ofthis character which is capable o! giving a signalto stationaryreceiving device within the near vicinity by movement of the individualthat cannot be detected by another person in close proximity to theindividual carryingthe alarm device.

More particularly it is a purpose of this invention to provide a signalemitting device which can be readily attached to the body of theindividual and concealed about the clothing which signal device can bereadily operated by the individual upon an abnormal movement of someportion of the body,

In its preferred form the invention contemplates providing means wherebyan abnormal exaggeration of a normal body movement such as breathing maybe caused to actuate the alarm device. The invention contemplates in itsscope any such abnormal body movement as may be accomplished withoutexciting the suspicion of a holdup man and naturally it may includeabnormal body expansion or contraction.

Y I will describe the preferred form of the invention by reference tothe accompanying drawing wherein-v Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammaticview illus trating the device as applied to the human body;

' and a receiving apparatus for picking up oscil-l lations transmittedfrom the equipment carried 'by the human body.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, the device is illustrated asconsisting of a signal box 5 which is preferably attached to the humanbody by means of albelt or strap 6 which is fastened around the bodybeneath the outer clothing so that the signal device may be completelyconcealed, for example, underneath the shirt of the man wearing it. Thestrap 6 must, of course, be

adjustable in length so that the device may be neatly tted around thebody in order that normal breathing will not actuate it. n

'I'he box 5 may be made thin and ilat as th mechanism therein can bemade quite small and still retain suicient power to perform itsfunction. The box contains a small battery 1 which may be made up of thesmall ilat cells that are now available commercially. In addition arelay 8 is mounted in the box, one end of the relay coil 9 beingconnected to the contact Ill and the other end thereof being connectedto the terminal I I. This terminal I I is connected to the armature I2opposite the stationary contact I3 and is also connected to the antennawire I4 which extends through the box 5 and hangs downwardly beneath theclothing of the individual, preferably between the under garments andouter garments. A small Weight I5 may be attached to the lower end ofthis wire.

It is evident of course, that if a circuit is closed through the relaycoil 9, it will attract its armature I2 and break contact between thestationary contact element I 3 and the armature I 2. Contact element I3is connected to one side of the battery 'I and thelother side of thebattery is connected to the lever I6 which is pivoted in the casing 5and carries a contact Il for engagement with the contact I0. TheqspringI8 normally holds the contacts I'I and Ill separated and the belt 6 isso adjusted that normal breathing operation does not pull the lever I6enough to bring the contacts III and I1 together. However, by expandingjust slightly more than is normal, the individual may close the contactsII) and I1.

When the contacts IIJ and I'I are closed, the signal device is put inoperation. A'circuit is established through the coil 9 of relay 8overthe following path: vfrom one side of the battery 1, through leverI6, contacts I0 and I1, coil 9, terminal II, armature I2, and stationarycontact I3 to other side of the batt-ery. This circuit when established,causes the relay to attract its armature I2 and break the circuit at thestationary contact I3. Then, of course, the relay being deenergized,armature I2 will be retracted and again engage I3 to again complete thecircuit. Thus an interrupter circuit is established and results inalternate energizing and deenergizing of the relay coil 9 causing ineffect the supplying of waves of energy to the antenna I4. Antenna I4 isconnected to the terminal II and therefore to that end of. the coil 9opposite its connection to the battery.

Ihave found that by connecting: the antenna I4 at this particular point,I am able to obtain l' -tube 22 adapted to amplify the signals receivedby the antenna 2l and pass them through the coil of the relay 23.

The receiving circuit is tuned to the wave length being sent out by theantenna I4 and the receiving circuit may of course by such tuning andproper construction be protected against operation by stray signals ordisturbances.

The relay 23 is preferably constructed with a retarding means so thatsudden discharge would notl cause it to close the contacts at 24 byattracting its armature 25. However, upon receiving the sustainedoscillations from the signal unit, the relay 23 does attract itsarmature and does close a circuit connecting power to the burglar alarmsystem in the building where the individual is working. I have indicatedat 26 and 2T the leads to the burglar alarm system and at 28 I haveindicated a buzzer or bell which is the simplest form of alarm givingdevice. The structure of the burglar alarm system is not shown here asit forms no part of the present invention and it is obvious that thepresent invention may be applied to any existing alarm system that isadapted to be actuated by opening or closing an electrical circuit.

The chief advantage of my invention lies in the fact that it places theburglar alarm system within the reach of the individual without it beingnecessary for him to make a movement which a holdup man can detect. Itis therefore not necessary with this device to press a button with thefoot or to even move the hands or make any other movement that wouldexcite suspicion. Furthermore, if the individuals being held up arecaused to lie down or are herded into a group by the robbers, the alarmcan readily be given by any one of the individuals wearing this devicewithout the robbers becoming aware of this fact.

The oscillation generating device within the box 5 is made practicallynoiseless so that no sound will indicate to the robber that an alarm hasbeen given.

From the above description, it is believed that the construction andoperation of this device Will be clear to those skilled in this art andthe advantages thereof readily apparent. It is also believed to beobvious that various modifications may be made in the details of theapparatus without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

In a holdup alarm device, an oscillation generating device adapted togenerate oscillations capable of being picked up by a stationaryreceiving apparatus out of reach of the operator of the generatingdevice, and means for mounting said device in completely concealedposition upon the operators body, including means for actuating saiddevice upon abnormal expansion of the body of the operator.

HARRY O. RUGH.

